News, Press, and Recommended Reading

FIRST DAY OF 46TH ANNUAL RAINBOW PUSH COALITION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: APPS, CODES AND SCHOLARSHIPS

CHICAGO – A leading Silicon Valley leader Wednesday hailed the Rainbow PUSH Coalition for its work to protect civil rights, but said it will take a renewed vigilance to protect gains made over the past 50 years.

Rosalind Hudnell, vice president of Worldwide Corporate Affairs and president of the Intel Foundation, lauded the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition for “its mission to protect, defend, and gain civil rights by leveling the economic and education playing fields, and to promote peace and justice around the world.”

Speaking at the opening luncheon for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund’s 46th Annual International Convention, Hudnell said the organization “is as much needed today as on the day of your founding.”

Before speaking at the luncheon, Hudnell visited the conference’s Tech Expo, which celebrated youth vision and entrepreneurism in the fields of Science, Technology, Arts Engineering, and Math (STEAM). The expo and convention continues through Friday afternoon at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Avenue, before moving to PUSH headquarters, 930 E. 50th Street, through Saturday, July 15.

Approximately 100 attendees, including several international delegations from both the Asian and African continents, attended a plenary session on investment and development opportunities in Africa.

"While nationalism is driven by localism and fear, globalism is driven by inclusion in hope," Rev. Jackson said.

Many of the panelists addressed the need for African countries to take the lead in their own development.

“I want a strong Africa, an Africa I created myself” said Solomon Baddoo, president and founder of Global Solutions Outreach Inc. “We need to equip our people to develop our own country, and a strong workforce capable of handling projects and solving problems.”

Diversity in Law

While getting through law school is often the challenge of a lifetime, it’s only the beginning of a many barriers young lawyers of color still confront today, according to a panel on the need for diversity in the legal profession.

"The biggest barrier people of color and women face in the legal profession is the lack of support mechanisms and access to relationships, the lifeblood of the law firm experience," said Robert Johnson, partner and chief diversity in inclusion officer at Quintarios, Prieto, Wood, & Boyer.

Joyce Tucker, former Illinois director of the department of human rights, said there is still a long road ahead toward equity in the legal profession.

“Eighty-eight percent of lawyers in this county are white; only 33 percent are women; only 3 percent of all associates at law firms are African-American; and only 2 percent are law firm partners,” Tucker said.

Scholarships

The first day of the conference ended with a night of music and song and scholarships during PUSH Excel’s annual convention banquet. Since 1990, PUSH Excel, the educational arm of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, has awarded more than $7 million to high school and college students.

“These children epitomize talent, persistence and discipline,” said PUSH Excel board member Donna Simpson Leak. “This is why we celebrate you and the future of all our children by bestowing these scholarships.:

2 -4 PM: From SNCC to Black Lives Matters, a discussion on how today’s activists can build on the past, moderated by Dr. Julianne Malveau, author, educator and president of PUSH Excel Board of Directors.